Campylobacter enteritis from untreated water in the Rocky Mountains

During the summers of 1980 and 1981 Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 23% and Giardia lamblia was isolated from 8% of persons with diarrheal disease acquired in the area of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Campylobacter enteritis occurred most frequently in young adults who had been hiking in wilderness areas and was significantly associated with drinking untreated surface water in the week before illness (p less than 0.02 in 1980; p less than 0.005 in 1981). Penner serotype 4 was the commonest serotype isolated from humans and the only serotype isolated from an implicated mountain stream. These studies show that backcountry surface water can be an important source of C. jejuni and that infection with Campylobacter, as well as G. lamblia, should be considered as a cause of diarrhea in those who have recently returned from wilderness areas.